1. Interacting with and Observing Young Children

2. What will we learn today?
Standard:
ET-ECE-8: Explore the growth, development, and care of the preschool child
ET-ECE-9: Survey the growth and development of the school age child, 6-12 years old
EQ:
How do we learn about and observe children?

3. Observing Young Children

4. The BEST way to learn about children is to observe them!
Formal
Set up and arranged beforehand
Children are aware of being observed
Informal
Don’t make yourself obvious
Children may or may not be aware of you observing them
Whether formal or informal, you DON’T want to be noticed by the children!

5. Why would you observe children?
To understand their typical behaviors
Helps people respond to children appropriately
See how they develop
Identify children with disabilities
Get to know a child’s unique personality
Provides caregivers with useful feedback

6. How to observe young children:
Observing means more than just watching!
You must follow certain steps so that your observations will be useful.
FIRST, you must learn to separate fact from opinion
Fact:
something that actually exists/reality/truth
Opinion:
personal view/attitude/belief

7. Examples of Observations
Observation A
Ethan is feeling selfish. He won’t let anyone play with the toys in the sandbox. He gets mad at Cody a lot.
Opinion
Observation B
Ethan is sitting in the sandbox. He reaches out and takes a truck away from Cody. Cody grabs for the truck, but Ethan pulls it away. “It’s my truck now,” says Ethan, looking Cody straight in the face.
Fact

8. Examples of Observations
Observation A
Subjective
Personal opinions and feelings
No facts
It is hard to tell what really happened between the two boys
Observation B
Objective
Factual
Leaves aside personal feelings
The observer descries only what is actually seen/heard

9. Types of Observation Records:
Running Record
Anecdotal Record
Frequency Count
Developmental Checklist
Begin each observation by recording:
The date and time
The number of children and adults present
Names and ages (include months if they are really young. EX: 2 years and 2 months old)

10. Running Record What do you do?
Write down everything observed for a set period of time
What is this observation used for?
Observers who are just getting to know a child or group of children
Concentrating on a certain area of development

11. Anecdotal Record What do you do?
Write down everything observed with no time limit
Similar to a running record EXCEPT there is no time limit
What is this observation used for?
Concentrating on a specific area of development for long periods of time
EX: Area of development: how a child adjusts to a new daycare center.
An observer writes down how a child behaves every day for two weeks

12. Frequency Count What do you do?
Keep a tally of how often a certain behavior occurs
What is this observation used for?
MOST useful for trying to change an unwanted behavior
Start, by making a list of behaviors that need to change

13. Developmental Checklist
What do you do?
A list of skills children should master, or behaviors they should exhibit at a certain age
Observers simply check off the skills or behaviors they see
What is this observation used for?
Recording skills the child has mastered
Analyzing skills that have not been mastered yet

15. How to Act While Observing
Try to blend into the environment as much as possible
Avoid calling attention to yourself
Sit or stand slightly outside the area where the children are
Be ready to take notes
Make sure you understand your observation record before you begin
What if a child talks to you?
Briefly answer question
Do not ask them questions
Encourage them to return to their activities

16. Observation Project: Day 1
Your goal will be to learn about the various methods of observation by:
Researching observations
Creating observations
Observing REAL students in a classroom setting
Types of observations you will use for this project
Running Record
Frequency Count

17. What you will do today: Practice running record (alone)
Define (alone): Running Record, Anecdotal Record, Frequency Count, and Developmental Checklist
Then, write a sentence describing why or when you might use that observation
Create your frequency count observation (with a partner)
Think about things that high school students do in class that a teacher may want to change (at least 20)

18. Example Frequency Count Observation Ideas
Using cellphone
Eating
Talking while the teacher is talking
Not raising hand
Playing games